THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


FRONTISPIECE. 


FRANKY'S  WORK. 


BY 

CAROLINE    E.   KELLEY, 

AUTHOR   OF   PAPA'S   LITTLE    SOLDIERS,    JOHNNY'S    CAP- 
TAIN,   BERNICE,   THE   CHILD'S   BIBLE    STORIES, 
LITTLE  CONQUERORS,    ETC. 


BOSTON: 

PUBLISHED    BY    HE  NUT    HOYT, 

No.    9     CORNIIILL. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1865,  by 

HENRY     HOYT, 
la  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  Massachusetts. 


DAKIN  AND  METCALP, 

Stcrrotcpcrs    an)    i3rtntfrs, 

37   CORNUILL. 


TZG 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 
MOVING,     .       .       .       . 5 

CHAPTER  II. 
THE  NEW  HOME, 13 

CHAPTER  III. 
FRANKY'S  WORK, 30 

CHAPTER  IV. 
ELIZABETH  AND  HER  NIECE  CLO.,        .       .        .43 

CHAPTER  V. 
A  NEW  ACQUAINTANCE, 67 

CHAPTER  VI. 
TALKS  WITH  PAPA  AND  MAMMA,  .        .       .        .79 

CHAPTER  VII. 
FRANKY  AND  THE  STREET  BOYS,   . 


622779 


IV  CONTEXTS. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
TOM,   .    % 114 

CHAPTER  IX. 
THE  NEW  SCHOOLROOM, 124 

CHAPTER  X. 
A  LETTER  TO  GRANDMA, 137 


FRANKY'S    WORK. 


Fran- 

ky  Maloy 
was  seven 
years  old, 
and  Nellie 
about  five 
and  a  half, 
their  papa 
and  mam- 
ma went  to 
live  in  the  city.  Aunty  went  with 


FRANKY7S   WORK. 


them,  and  kitty  and  the  canary- 
bird,  and  most  of  the  house  furni- 
ture ;  but  there  were  some  things 
that  they  would  have  been  very 
glad  to  have  taken  that  were  too 
heavy  and  large  to  be  moved ;  such 
as  the  beautiful  garden,  with  its 
fruit-trees  and  flower-beds,  and  the 
nice  large  front-yard,  with  its  two 
great,  wide-spreading  elms. 

While  papa  and  mamma  were 
packing  the  goods,  and  putting 
the  house  in  the  city  in  order, 
the  children  went  to  stay  at 
grandpa's  house.  But  Franky  was 
so  impatient  to  see  his  new 


MOVING. 


home  that  he  did  not  enjoy  him- 
self as  well  as  he  usually  did  at 
grandpa's.  He  wondered,  guessed, 
and  asked  questions  from  morn- 
ing till  night,  when  he  could  find 
any  one  to  listen  to  him  or  an- 
swer him;  and  when  grandpa  and 
grandma  bade  him  not  trouble 
them,  he  would  take  Nellie  into 
a  corner  and  talk  to  her  by  the 
hour  about  the  wonderful  things 
they  would  see  when  they  got  to 
the  city. 

When  the  day  came  for  them 
to  go,  Franky  was  so  excited  that 
he  could  not  eat  any  breakfast. 


8  FRANKY'S  WORK. 

He  ran  to  the  door  every  two 
minutes,  to  see  if  the  hack  was 
coming  ;  ,  and  when  it  wanted  half 
an  hour  of  the  time  for  the  train 
to  leave,  he  began  to  cry  for  fear 
that  the  hackman  had  forgotten  to 
call  for  them. 

"  Hush,  little  boy ! "  said  grand- 
ma, wiping  his  eyes  with  her 
handkerchief.  "  Are  you  more  of 
a  baby  than  Nellie?" 

Franky  felt  very  much  ashamed 
at  this.  He  went  and  sat  down 
on  the  doorstep  and  began  to 
whistle,  as  well  as  he  knew  how. 
Pretty  soon  Nellie  came  up  behind 


MOVING. 


him.  She  had  on  her  little  gray 
sack  and  her  white  cape-bonnet, 
and  she  held  her  doll  very  care- 
fully in  her  arms. 

"  Grandma  said  you  were  more 
a  baby  than  I,"  said  she,  trying 
to  get  a  seat  on  the  doorstep  be- 
side Franky. 

"  No,  she  didn't  either,"  re- 
turned Franky.  "  She  just  asked 
me  if  I  was,  and  I'm  not.  I 
a'n't  a  baby,  nor  anything  like  it ! " 

"  Then    what    made    you    cry  ? " 

"  I  guess  older  boys  than  I  am 
cry ;  and  sometimes  big  men  cry 
too,"  said  Franky,  in  a  cross  tone. 


10  FRANKY'S  WORK. 

"  Well,"  said  Nellie,  "  I  wish 
you'd  let  me  come  and  sit  down 
side  of  you." 

"  I  don't  want  you,"  replied 
Franky.  "  You're  always  tagging 
me  round  wherever  I  go.  You'd 
better  go  into  the  parlor  with 
grandma,  and  when  the  hack 
comes,  I'll  call  you." 

"  I  sha'n't  go  into  the  parlor," 
said  Nellie,  decidedly.  "Grandma 
isn't  there.  I  want  to  sit  down 
on  the  doorstep." 

t;  Well,  you  may,  you  naughty 
girl ! "  exclaimed  Franky,  getting 
up  and  marching  off  to  the  gate. 


MOVING.  11 


Now  Nellie  did  not  really  care 
to  sit  down ;  she  only  wanted  to 
follow  her  brother  and  ask  ques- 
tions ;  so  she  trotted  after  him, 
and  no  sooner  had  he  reached 
the  gate  than  there  she  stood  be- 
side him. 

"  What  a  plague  you  are ! " 
cried  Franky.  "  I  wish  you'd  go 
off  and  leave  me  alone.  You  are 
always  in  my  way  when  I  don't 
want  you." 

"  I  mean  to  tell  mamma  that 
you  are  real  cross  to  me,"  said 
Nellie,  pouting. 

"  I    wouldn't    be    cross    if    you 


12  FRANKY'S  WORK. 

didn't  bother  me  so ;  but  you  — 
Hurrah !  here  comes  the  hack ! 
Grandma,  the  hack  is  coming! 
We  shall  be  late,  grandma ! "  and 
Franky  in  his  joy  forgot  fear  and 
vexation,  and  dashed  into  the 
house  for  the  carpet-bag. 

Grandma  was  all  ready.  She 
was  going  to  take  the  children  to 
their  new  home.  In  two  minutes 
more  she  was  seated  in  the  hack, 
with  Nellie  by  her  side  and 
Franky  with  the  carpet-bag  on 
the  opposite  seat,  and,  as  fast  as 
the  horses  could  carry  them,  they 
were  driving  to  the  depot. 


CHAPTEE  II, 

THE  NEW  HOME. 


HE  chil- 
dren's papa 
was  waiting 
for  them  at 
the  station 
in  the  city. 
F  r  a  n  k  y 
caught  the 
first  glimpse 
of  his  kind  face,  and  pointed  him 
out  to  his  grandma  and  Nellie,  and 
also  to  as  many  of  the  passengers 


14  FRANKY'S  WORK. 

JELS  were  sitting  within  hearing  of 
his  little  shrill  voice. 

"  There's  papa ! "  he  shouted. 
"  See  him,  Nellie ;  right  next  to 
that  fat  gentleman  with  specta- 
cles on !  " 

"  I  see  papa,"  replied  Nellie  ; 
"  but  he  hasn't  spectacles  on, 
Franky." 

t;It's  the  fat  gentleman,  not 
papa,"  explained  Franky.  "  Can't 
we  get  out  now,  grandma  ? " 

"  Why,  no,  dear;  the  cars  have 
not  stopped,  and  there  is  no  haste. 
Your  papa  will  come  for  us." 

Franky   was   very   impatient,  the 


THE   NEW   HOME.  15 

more  so  as  he  saw  all  the  gen- 
tlemen in  the  car  leaving  their 
seats.  He  pulled  grandma  by  her 
gown  to  gain  her  attention. 

"  Mayn't  I  go  and  speak  to  pa- 
pa? You  and  Nellie  had  better 
wait  here,  and  we  will  come  back 
for  you.  I'm  sure  papa  wont 
know  which  car  we  are  in." 

"  I  am  sure  that  he  will  find 
us,"  replied  Grandma  Maloy,  smil- 
ing. "Wont  you  try  and  be  pa- 
tient, Frank  1 " 

Just  at  this  moment  Franky  felt 
a  hand  upon  his  shoulder,  and  pa- 
pa's pleasant  voice  said, — 


16  FRANKY'S  WORK. 

"  I  am  glad  to  see  my  little  boy 
and  girl  again." 

"  So  am  I,"  said  Nellie.  She 
meant  that  she  was  glad  to  see 
her  papa,  you  know. 

"  Why  didn't  mamma  come  to 
the  depot?"  asked  Franky,  gath- 
ering up  the  little  satchel  and 
grandma's  cap-box  with  a  very 
business-like  air. 

"  Because  she  was  busy;  but 
she  wants  to  see  you  little  folks 
very  much  indeed,  and  so  does 
aunty,"  said  Mr.  Maloy.  Then  he 
took  Nellie  up  on  one  strong  arm, 
and  the  big  carpet-bag  on  the 


THE   NEW   HOME.  17 

other,  and  led  the  way  out  of  the 
car,  across  the  platform,  to  the 
hack  that  was  waiting  for  them 

It  was  quite  a  long  drive  from 
the  depot  to  their  new  home,  and 
papa  was  busy  answering  grand- 
ma's questions  all  the  way;  but 
there  were  so  many  new  and 
strange  sights  to  be  seen  that  the 
children  were  not  impatient. 

I  wonder  if  any  of  my  little 
friends  who  live  in  the  country 
have  ever  visited  the  city.  If  you 
have,  you  remember  how  troubled 
you  were,  lest  the  wheels  of  your 
carriage  should  hit  the  wheels  of 


18  FRANKY'S  WORK. 

some  of  the  other  carriages,  and 
be  dished  in  pieces  against  them. 
And  you  remember  how  noisy  it 
was,  and  how  everybody  seemed 
to  be  in  a  great  hurry,  and  how 
the  shop- windows  were  full  of 
toys  and  bright  colors  and  pic- 
tures,1 and  how  you  thought  it 
must  be  splendid  to  live  within 
sight  of  such  beautiful  things. 
This  was  just  about  what  Franky 
and  Nellie  thought  and  said  to 
each  other  as  they  rode  along 
the  crowded  streets.  Presently 
the  hack  drew  up  in  front  of  a 
brick  block,  and  papa  said, — 


THE   NEW   HOME.  19 

"  Here   we   are  !  " 

"  Why,  is  this  our  house  ? " 
asked  Franky. 

"  Yes,"  cried  Nellie,  clapping 
her  hands,  "  for  there's  mamma  at 
the  window." 

"  And  aunty,"  added  Frank, 
leaping  from  the  hack  into  pa- 
pa's arms,  and  running  up  the 
steps. 

There  was  nothing  to  be  heard 
for  the  next  five  minutes  but  a 
happy  tumult  of  laughter  and  kiss- 
es and  the  children's  voices  raised 
above  the  rest,  asking  so  many 
questions  in  a  breath  that  nobody 


20  FRANKY'S  WORK. 

thought  of  answering  them.  By 
and  by  mamma  said, — 

"  Now  we  little  folks  must  be 
quiet  and  let  grandma  and  papa 
and  aunty  talk." 

"  Why,  you're  as  big  as  aunty," 
said  Franky,  laughing.  "  You 
aren't  little  folks,  mamma." 

"  But  I  am  going  to  be  quiet," 
said  mamma. 

"  Well,  may  I  and  Nellie  go 
out  in  the  garden  while  they  are 
talking?"  whispered  Franky. 

"  There  is  no  garden,  my  dear 
boy,"  said  mamma ;  "  there  is  only 
a  little  bit  of  a  yard." 


THE   NEW   HOME.  21 

"  Where  am  I  going  to  play, 
mamma  ? " 

"  Oh,  in  the  house,  and  some- 
times you  and  Nellie  ean  go  to 
walk  with  aunty  or  papa  and  me." 

Franky  walked  off  to  the  win- 
dow of  the  back  sitting-room  fol- 
lowed by  Nellie,  and  stood  look- 
ing out  with  rather  a  sad  coun- 
tenance. 

"  What's  the  matter,  Franky  ?  " 
asked  Nellie,  in  a  sympathizing 
tone. 

"  Why,  don't  you  see  that  I've 
nowhere  to  play?"  replied  Franky. 
"  Just  look  down  into  that  little 


22  FRANK  YTS  WORK. 

mite  of  a  yard.  It  isn't  big 
enough  for  anything,  and  the 
ground  is  all  covered  with  ugly 
red  bricks.  There  isn't  a  tree  nor 
a  bit  of  grass,  and  see  all  those 
ugly  walls.  We  are  right  close  to 
everybody's  houses.  It  isn't  nice 
here  a  bit,  and  I  wish  I  was 
back  home  again." 

"  Oh,  but,  Franky,  we  haven't 
been  to  see  those  'plendid  big 
dolls  yet,"  said  Nellie  ;  "  and  don't 
you  'member  the  rocking-horse? 
I  think  it  is  real  nice  here,  and 
I  like  you  to  play  in  the  house 
with  me." 


THE   NEW   HOME.  23 

"  Well,  I  don't,"  said  Franky, 
"  and  it's  no  use  to  talk  about  it. 
I'm  too  old  to  play  girls'  plays, 
and  I  like  to  be  out  where  I 
can  make  as  much  noise  as  I 
want  to." 

Aunty  had  overheard  this  little 
talk  between  Franky  and  Nellie  ; 
but  she  did  not  say  anything 
about  it.  She  put  down  her  sew- 
ing work  and  called  the  children 
to  come  to  her.  Nellie  ran  with 
a  skip  and  a  hop,  but  Franky 
moved  slowly  and  almost  unwill- 
ingly. 

"  Would  you  like  to  go  with  me 


24  FRANKY'S  WORK. 

and  see  where  you  are  going  to 
sleep,  and  the  other  rooms'?"  she 
asked,  pleasantly. 

"Yes,  indeed;"  and  the  clouded 
face  brightened  directly. 

It  was  a  very  pleasant  and  con- 
venient house,  but  quite  different 
from  the  old  home.  When  aunty 
had  shown  them  every  room, 
from  the  kitchen  and  dining-room 
in  the  basement  to  the  attic 
chamber,  she  took  them  both  in- 
to her  own  pleasant  room,  and 
said  that  she  wanted  to  have  a 
little  talk  with  them.  Now  when 
aunty  said  that,  Franky  knew  very 


*        THE   NEW   HOME.  25 

well  that  she  was  going  to  say 
something  serious,  and  he  thought 
it  very  likely  it  was  about  his 
grumbling  there  at  the  sitting-room 
window;  and  he  was  right. 

"  Franky,"  she  began,  looking 
straight  into  the  little  fellow's  eyes, 
"  do  you  love  your  mamma  ? " 

"  Why,  yes,  indeed,  I  do,"  said 
Franky.  "  What  a  question,  aunty! " 

"Do   you   love   your   papa?" 

"  You  know  I  love  my  papa. 
What  makes  you  ask  me  ? " 

"  Because,  if  you  really  love 
them,  you  will  try  to  make  them 
happy  by  being  contented  and 


26  FRANKY'S  WORK. 


cheerful  in  your  new  home,  even 
if  you  do  not  have  a  nice  gar- 
den to  play  in." 

"Oh!"   said   Franky. 

"  Your  papa  and  mamma  feel 
very  sorry  that  there  is  no  good 
place  for  you  and  Nellie  to  run 
about  in  out  of  doors,"  aunty  went 
on  to  say.  "  I  think  they  are  more 
sorry  for  that  than  for  any  in- 
convenience they  are  put  to  them- 
selves; they  have  spoken  about  it 
a  great  many  times.  Now,  Franky, 
I  want  to  see  what  a  little  man 
you  will  be.  I  know  it  will  be 
hard  for  you  who  have  always 


THE   NEW   HOME.  27 

been  used  to  a  nice  large  garden 
to  have  only  a  small  yard  to  run 
about  in ;  but  you  must  try  to  be 
happy  and  contented.  Will  you?" 

u  Yes,"  said  Franky,  "  I  will, 
aunty." 

"  And   so  will   I,"  said   Nellie. 

"  Does  mamma  like  to  live 
here  ?  "  asked  Franky. 

"  She  will  like  it,  because  it  is 
home,"  replied  aunty.  "  Your  pa- 
pa must  be  here,  and  you  chil- 
dren ;  and  mamma  does  not  care 
for  anything  so  much  as  she  does 
for  you.  Yes,  I  think  mamma 
will  like  here  very  well  indeed." 


28       FRANKY'S  WORK. 

"  And  do  you,  aunty  ?  " 

"  Oh,  yes,  indeed,"  said  aunty, 
laughing ;  "I  like  any  place  well 
enough." 

"  And   does   papa  1 " 

"  Yes,  because  he  has  a  great 
work  to  do  here,"  said  aunty,  se- 
riously. 

"What   is   it!"   asked   Nellie. 

"It   is   to  tell   the   people    about 

• 
Jesus  Christ,"   said   aunty. 

"What!  all  the  people  in  Bos- 
ton?" 

"All  who  will  come  to  listen  to 
him,  and  all  whom  he  can  go  to 
visit,"  said  aunty. 


THE  NEW  HOME.  29     , 


"  He  will  have  to  work  hard," 
said  Franky,  thoughtfully.  "  I  wish 
I  could  help  him." 

"  Perhaps  you  can,"  said  aunty. 
"  Little  boys  like  you  can  do  a 
great  deal,  if  they  really  love  Je- 
sus." 

"  What  do  you  think  I  can 
do?"  asked  Franky,  drawing  closer 
to  aunty,  and  looking  earnestly  in 
her  face. 

"  You  may  ask  papa,  and  some- 
time you  and  I  will  have  a  talk 
about  it,"  said  aunty;  "but  I  must 
go  down-stairs  now,  and  see  about 
supper." 


CHAPTEE  III, 
FRANKY'S  WORK. 

AN  a  little 
boy  like 
me  do  any- 
thin  g  to 
help  I " 

"  To  help 
whom, 
Franky  ?  " 

"Why, 
you,  papa.  Aunty  says  that  you 
have  got  to  work  very  hard  now, 
to  tell  all  the  people  about  Jesus 


FRANKY'S  WORK.  31 

Christ,  and  I  want  to  help  you. 
Aunty  said  that  perhaps  I  could." 

"  You  can,"  said  papa,  taking 
Franky  upon  his  knee.  "  You  can 
help  me  by  being  an  obedient, 
gentle,  affectionate  child." 

"  But  can't  I  do  anything  else?" 
asked  Franky. 

"  You  don't  know  how  much 
that  is,"  said  papa.  "  It  would  keep 
you  busy  all  of  the  time..  You 
are  rather  apt  to  be  impatient 
with  Nellie,  and  ypu  are  not  al- 
ways quite  as  obedient  as  I  would 
like  to  have  you,  and  *  sometimes 
you  are  pretty  rough  in  your 


32  FRANKY'S  WORK. 

ways.  I  would  like  to  have  you 
correct  these  faults,  my  son." 

Ci  I  mean  to,  papa,"  said  Franky. 
"  You  know  I  and  Nellie  are  lit- 
tle conquerors,  and,  of  course,  I'm 
trying  all  of  the  time.  And  I 
think  I  am  a  better  boy  than  I 
wras  once.  Don't  you,  papal  You 
know  I  wouldn't  play  with  Nel- 
lie hardly  ever,  'cause  I  thought  it 
wasn't  manly  to  play  with  girls ; 
but  I  do  now." 

"  Well,  you  said  you  wouldn't 
play  with  me  only  but  one  yes- 
terday ago,"  interrupted  Nellie, 
who  had  been  listening  rather  im- 


FRANKY'S  WORK.  33 

patiently  to  a  conversation  in 
which  she  had  no  share.  "  You 
said  you  were  too  old  to  play  girls' 
plays," 

"  Well,  I  was  cross  then,"  said 
Franky,  blushing ;  "  but  you  know 
I  do  play  with  you,  Nellie,  every 
single  day,  anything  that  you  want 
me  to." 

"All  but  dollies;  you  never  will 
play  dollies,  and  I  like  that  best 
of  everything." 

"Did  you  like  to  play  dollies 
when  you  were  a  little  boy,  pa- 
pa?" asked  Franky. 

Papa  smiled.     "  No,  I  did  not," 


34  FBANKY'S  WORK. 

he  said,  and  Franky  clapped  his 
hands. 

"  There,  Nellie,"  he  cried,  "  if 
papa  were  a  little  boy  like  me,  he 
wouldn't  like  dolls  any  better  than 
I  do.  They  aren't  fit  for  boys, 
and  I  don't  ever  want  you  to  ask 
me  to  play  with  'em  any  more  ; 
and  I  wish  you  would  go  away 
now  and^  amuse  yourself;  for  I 
and  papa  are  having  a  little  talk." 

But  Nellie  had  no  idea  of  leav- 
ing the  room.  She  just  got  a 
small  chair,  and  climbed  up  in  it, 
and  put  one  of  her  arms  around 
papa's  neck,  and  hopped  upon  his 


FRANKY'S  WORK.  35 

other  knee  almost  before  he  knew 
what  she  was  about. 

"  Wont  we  let  little  sister  stay 
if  she  wants  to,  Frank  1 "  asked 
papa. 

"  Yes,  sir,  if  she  will  only  keep 
still,"  said  Franky ;  "  but  I  want 
to  know  if  there  isn't  something 
else  I  can  do." 

"  Why  not  make  some  more 
comfort-bags  for  the  soldiers  1 " 

*'  Oh,  I  don't  mean  that  kind  of 
work,  papa,"  said  Franky.  "  I 
want  to  help  you  tell  the  people 
about  Jesus  Christ." 

"  My  dear  boy,"  said  papa,  "  you 
I  =r=r====-=====^^ 


36  FRANK Y>3   WORK. 

are  too  young  to  preach  sermons, 
you  know,  or  to  teach  much  by 
your  words ;  but  you  can  do  a 
great  deal  for  Jesus  by  your  ex- 
ample." 

"  What  is  example  I  "  asked  Nel- 
lie. 

"  Papa's  talking  to  me,"  inter- 
rupted Franky,  "  and  I  understand 
what  he  means." 

"  Wont  you  explain  it  to  your 
sister,  then,  my  son]" 

"  Why,  he  means,  Nellie,  that 
if  I  am  a  good  boy,  I  will  set  a 
good  example  to  you  and  other 
children;  but  if  I'm  a  naughty 


FRANKY'S  WORK.  37 

boy,  I'll  set  a  bad  example;  and 
if  you  do  like  me,  you  will  fol- 
low my  example  and  be  naughty 
too." 

"  Oh,  yes,"  said  Nellie,  wisely, 
"  I  und'tand,  Franky." 

cc  I  don't  know  any  little  boys 
and  girls  here,  papa,"  said  Franky. 

"  You  will  very  soon,  I  think," 
said  papa.  "  There  are  a  great 
many  children  in  my  Sunday- 
school,  and  you  will  be  likely  to 
see  them  and  become  acquainted 
with  them.  Now,  it  will  really  be 
a  help  to  me,  if  these  children 
find  that  my  little  boy  is  truth- 


38  FRANKY 's  WORK. 

ful  and  obedient  and  anxious  to 
serve  Jesus  Christ." 

"I  do  want  to,  papa,  —  I  really 
do,"  said  Franky,  earnestly.  "  I 
don't  mean  to  be  naughty ;  but 
there  is  something  real  ugly  in  my 
heart  sometimes,  and  that  is  what 
makes  me  cross  to  Nellie." 

"  It  is  sin,  my  dear  child,"  said 
papa;  "  and  you  must  pray  to 
Jesus  to  help  you  when  you  have 
the  naughty  feelings  in  your  heart. 
lie  will  take  them  away,  if  you 
ask  him." 

"  I  do  ask  him  every  night  and 
every  morning,"  whispered  Franky, 


FRANKY'S  WORK.  39 

leaning  his  curly  head  upon  his 
father's  shoulder. 

44  That  is  right ;  my  son,  but 
you  must  ask  him  every  time  you 
feel  naughty,  if  you  want  him  to 
help  you." 

44  Must  I  kneel  right  down  and 
pray,  papa]  Wouldn't  that  be 
kind  o'  funny  I  " 

44  You  can  pray  sometimes  with- 
out kneeling,  and  without  speak- 
ing aloud.  Jesus  can  hear  you 
call  to  him,  if  you  do  not  speak." 

44  I  don't  understand  how  he 
can  hear  me  think,"  said  Franky, 
puzzled. 


40  FRANKY'S  WORK. 

"  Because  he  is  God,"  said  pa- 
pa, very  seriously.  "  He  knows 
all  things." 

"I  wish  he  didn't,"  said  Franky. 

"Why,   my   child?" 

"  Because  he  knows  all  of  my 
naughty  thoughts,  and  he  must 
hate  'em." 

"  Yes.  he  does  hate  them ;  but 
he  loves  you,  and  he  wants  to 
help  you  cast  out  the  naughty 
thoughts  and  give  you  good  ones 
instead." 

"  I  mean  to  ask  him  more  than 
I  ever  did  yet,"  said  Franky. 
"  Isn't  he  real  good,  papa  ? " 


FRANKY'S  WORK.  41 

"  Oh,  yes,  my  boy.  He  is  the 
kindest  and  b:st  Friend  we  have." 

"  Kinder  than  you,  papa  I " 
asked  Nellie,  with  open  blue  eyes. 

"  Yes,  far  kinder  than  I,"  said 
papa. 

"  I  don't  see  how  anybody  can 
be  better  than  you,"  said  Nellie. 

"  I  do,"  said  Franky  "  'cause, 
don't  you  know,  Nellie,  if  it  hadn't 
been  for  God,  we  wouldn't  have 
had  our  papa  at  all." 

"  So  we  wouldn't,"  said  Nellie. 
"  I  never  thought  of  that  before 
in  all  my  life.  I  mean  to  go  and 
tell  mamma  about  it." 


42  FRANKY'S  WORK. 

"  And  I,  too,  must  go  away  now," 
said  papa,  putting  the  children 
down  from  his  knees ;  "  and  some- 
time, Frank,  we  will  have  another 
little  talk  together  about  work. 
There  will  be  enough  for  you  to 
do,  you  may  be  quite  sure." 

"  I  am  glad  of  it,"  said  Franky. 
"  I  want  to  be  busy." 


OHAPTEE  IV. 

ELIZABETH  AND   HER   NIECE   CLO. 

WOMAN 

was  there 
to  work  in 
the  kitchen, 
and  help 
about  the 
house,  now 
that  Mrs. 
Maloy  had  come  to  live  in  the 
city,  because  papa  said  there  would 
be  so  many  people  for  her  to  visit, 


44  PBANKY'S  WORK. 

and  so  much  for  her  to  do  to  help 
him,  that  she  must  not  spend  much 
of  her  time  about  the  house.  The 
woman's  name  was  Elizabeth,  and 
she  was  a  very  good-natured  woman. 
The  children  soon  got  acquainted 
with  her,  and  as  she  was  fond  of 
children,  and  knew  a  great  many 
stories,  Franky  and  Nellie  were 
always  very  much  pleased  when 
mamma  gave  them  leave  to  go  down 
into  the  kitchen  for  an  hour.  Nel- 
lie had  an  old  high-chair,  and  Eliz- 
abeth always  put  her  into  it  and 
pushed  it  up  to  the  table  where 
she  was  at  work,  so  that  Nellie 


ELIZABETH   AND   HER   NIECE    CLO.      45 

wouldn't  get  into  mischief.  But  as 
Franky  was  older,  she  allowed  him 
to  sit  or  stand  as  he  pleased.  Gen- 
erally he  chose  to  stand  at  the  op- 
posite end  of  the  table,  where  he 
could  see  everything  that  Elizabeth 
was  doing. 

J^  One  day  when  Frank  and  Nel- 
lie went  down  into  the  kitchen, 
they  found  Elizabeth  sitting  by 
the  window  reading  a  letter.  Now 
ever  since  the  children  had  their 
two  letters  from  the  soldiers,  Nel- 
lie had  an  idea  that  all  the  let- 
ters that  came  into  the  house  were 
from  soldiers,  and  she  always  felt 


46  FRANKY'S  WORK. 

disappointed  when  she  learned  that 
they  were  not.  As  soon  as  she 
saw  what  Elizabeth  was  doing, 
she  trotted  up  to  her  chair,  and 
made  two  or  three  little  coughs  to 
attract  her  attention  ;  but  Elizabeth 
was  too  busy  to  notice  such  a  noise 
as  that.  She  read  on  slowly,  two 
pages,  then  clapped  her  hands  up- 
on her  knee,  and  exclaimed,  — 

"  Well,   I   declare  !  " 

Then  Nellie  felt  confident  that 
the  letter  was  from  a  soldier,  and 
she  was  so  anxious  to  hear  what 
he  said  that  she  pulled  Elizabeth's 
sleeve,  just  the  least  bit. 


ELIZABETH   AND    HER   NIECE   CLO.       47 

"  Stop,"  whispered  Franky  ;  "it 
isn't  polite  to  do  so,  Nellie."  But 
Franky  himself  was  quite  impa- 
tient, and  it  seemed  to  him  as 
though  Elizabeth  never  would  get 
to  the  last  page.  By  and  by,  Nel- 
lie happened  to  catch  a  glimpse 
of  the  envelope  that  lay  upon  the 
chair  on  the  other  side  of  Eliza- 
beth, and  she  slipped  round  where 
she  could  get  a  better  view  of  it. 

"  Oh,  Franky,  come  here ! "  she 
cried  almost  aloud.  "  It  is  from  a 
soldier-man,  just  as  certain  as  any- 
thing. Only  see,  Franky,  there's 
a  big  flag,  and  a  soldier-man  with 


48  FRANKY'S  WORK. 

a  gun,  and  a  lot  of  a  hymn  writ- 
ten ! " 

Franky  came  and  looked,  and 
he  tried  to  read  the  verses ;  but 
they  were  not  very  well  printed. 
By  the  time  he  gave  it  up,  Eliz- 
abeth had  finished  her  letter,  and 
folded  it. 

"  Why,  you  shy  little  kittens  !  " 
said  she,  "  how  long  have  you  been 
down  here  I " 

"  Oh,  I  don't  know,"  said  Nel- 
lie. "I  should  think  two  or  six 
hours." 

Elizabeth  laughed  at  that. 
"  Two  or  six  minutes  I  guess  you 


ELIZABETH   AND    HER   NIECE    CLO.      49 

mean,"  she  said,  looking  at  the 
clock.  "  It  was  only  ten  minutes 
ago  that  I  got  my  letter." 

"  Oh,  Lizerbuth,"  said  Nellie 
(you  see  she  .could  not  pronounce 
Elizabeth,  and  so  she  always  said 
Lizerbuth),  "  is  your  letter  from  a 
soldier-man  1 " 

"  No,"  said  Elizabeth ;  "it  is 
from  my  sister  Clorinda  and  lit- 
tle Clo.,  her  daughter."  , 

"  Oh,  dear !  I  thought  it  was 
from  a  soldier,"  said  Franky,  al- 
most as  much  disappointed  as  Nel- 
lie. "  It's  got  a  real  soldier  en- 
velope, Elizabeth." 


50  FRANK Y'S   WORK. 

"  Well,  Clorinda's  husband  is  in 
the  army,  and  I  suppose  that  is 
the  reason,"  said  Elizabeth,  put- 
ting her  letter  in  the  table-draw- 
er, and  getting  Nellie's  high-chair. 
"  Are  you  going  to  make  me  a 
visit  this  afternoon?" 

"  Yes,"  said  Xellie  ;  "  mamma 
said,  if  you'd  like  it,  we  might 
stay  down  with  you  just  one 
hour." 

14  Can't  you  tell  us  a  story 
about  Clo.  ? "  asked  Franky,  when 
Elizabeth  was  ready  to  iron. 

"Well,  yes,  I  guess  I  can,'' 
said  Elizabeth.  "  Clo.  is  a  smart 


ELIZABETH   AND    HER   NIECE    CLO.      51 

girl  as  I  ever  saw,  if  she  is  my 
own  niece." 

"  Where  does  she  live  I  "  asked 
Nellie. 

"  Don't  you  interrupt  Elizabeth," 
said  Franky,  shaking  his  head ; 
"  mamma  says  it  isn't  polite  at  all 
to  interrupt  when  any  one  is  talk- 
ing." 

"  Never  you  mind  Nellie,"  said 
Elizabeth ;  "  you  interrupt  some- 
times yourself.  Clo.  and  her  moth- 
er live  in  the  State  of  New 
Hampshire.  The  name  of  the 
town  where  they  live  is  Dover. 
I  guess  you  never  heard  of  it." 


52  FRANKY'S  WORK. 

"  No,"  said  Nellie,  "  I  never  did. 
Is  Clo.  a  good  girl,  Lizerbuth?" 

"  That's  what  she  is !  as  good  a 
child  as  I  ever  saw,  —  smart  and 
good  bo.th." 

"  Did  she  ever  make  any  com- 
fort-bags for  the  soldiers  ? "  asked 
Franky. 

"  Well,  as  to  that,  I  can't  justly 
say,"  replied  Elizabeth ;  "  but  she 
has  knit  six  pairs  of  socks  all  her 
own  self,  and  sent  'em  to  the  army." 

"  Is  she  older  than  I  am  ? " 
asked  Nellie. 

"  Bless  your  heart,  yes !  Why, 
Clo.  is  in  her  tenth  year." 


ELIZABETH   AND   HER  NIECE    CLO.      53 

"  Well,  what  else  does  she  do  ? " 
asked  Nellie.  "What  was  she  do- 
ing when  you  laughed?" 

"When  I  laughed?"  repeated 
Elizabeth. 

"  Yes,"  said  Franky.  "  When 
you  were  reading  the  letter,  you 
laughed,  and  you  said,  'Well,  I 
declare ! ' ' 

"Did  I?"  said  she,  thought- 
fully ;  then  in  a  minute  she  added, 
"  Oh,  I  know  what  it  was,  and 
I'll  tell  you  all  about  it  just  as 
quick  as  I  get  a  hot  flat-iron." 

"  Goody ! "  said  Franky,  and 
like  a  little  parrot, — 


54  FRANKY'S  WORK. 

"  Goody !  "   said   Nellie. 

"  Clo.  goes  to  the  Sunday-school," 
began  Elizabeth,  when  she  came 
back  to  the  table,  "  and  she  likes 
it-  first-rate." 

"  So    do   I,"    broke    in    Franky. 

"  Who  is  interrupting  now  ? " 
said  Elizabeth,  laughing. 

"  I  didn't  mean  to,"  said  Franky. 

"  Well,  no  matter,  only  I  don't 
like  you  to  be  always  talking  to 
Nellie,  when  she  doesn't  do  just 
right,"  said  Elizabeth.  "  Clo.  likes 
her  Sunday-school  better  than  any- 
thing else ;  she  learns  lots  and 
lots  of  hymns  and  verses,  and  she 


ELIZABETH   AND    HER  NIECE   CLO.      55 

is  a  pretty  little  singer  as  ever  I 
heard.  She  knows  about  every 
song  in  the  '  Golden  Chain/  and 
after  she  goes  to  bed  at  night, 
she'll  sing  them  over  till  she  gets 
herself  to  sleep.  Well,  here  two 
months  ago,  the  superintendent 
told  the  school  that  he  would 
give  a  nice  Bible  to  the  boy  or 
girl  that  would  get  the  most  new 
scholars  into  the  school  in  two 
months.  So  they  all  went  to 
work,  and  who  do  you  suppose 
got  the  Bible?" 

"  I  don't  know,  Lizerbuth,"  said 
Nellie.     "Who   did?" 


56  FRANKY'S  WORK. 

"  I   guess    Clo.,"   said   Franky. 

"  Yes,  it  was  Clo.  that  did  it. 
She  got  in  ten  new  scholars,  and 
lasf  Sunday  the  superintendent 
gave  Jier  a  beautiful  Bible.  I'm 
real  glad  of  it ;  for  Clo.'s  old  Bi- 
ble had  such  little  print  it  made 
my  eyes  ache  just  to  look  at  it." 

4 ;  Whom  did  she  get  in?"  asked 
Franky.  "  Did  she  tell  you  what 
their  names  were  \ " 

"  Yes,  but  I  can't  remember 
them ;  and  I  can't  stop  to  read 
them  to  you  now.  You  wouldn't 
know  any  better  if  I  did  either ; 
but  I'll  tell  you  one  thing:  they 


ELIZABETH   AND    HER   NIECE    CLO.      57 

were  all  poor  children.  Some  of 
'em  hadn't  any  shoes  and  stock- 
ings, and  one  hadn't  any  bonnet; 
but  Clo.  coaxed  and  coaxed  till 
she  got  'em  to  go  with  her,  and 
now  the  teachers  are  going  to 
meet  together  and  make  some 
clothes  for  'em,  so  that  they  may 
look  neat  and  tidy  beside  the 
other  children/ 

•'  A  hit  it  real  nice?"  said 
Franky,  with  very  bright  eyes. 
"I'm  glad  Clo.  got  the  Bible." 

"  I'm  gladder  that  she  got  the 
poor  children  into  the  school," 
said  Elizabeth.  "  Nobody  can  tell 


58  FRANKY'S  WORK. 

how  much  good  may  come  from 
it.  And  she  wont  give  up  her 
work  now  that  she  has  got  the 
Bible  She  is  going  to  keep  on 
trying  to  bring  in  new  scholars." 

"  I  wish  I  was  in  my  tenth 
year !  "  sighed  Franky. 

"What    for?"    asked    Elizabeth. 

"  Because  then  I  could  go  out 
alone  and  get  scholars  to  come  to 
papa's  Sunday-school.  That  would 
be  real  work;  wouldn't  it,  Eliza- 
beth 1 " 

"  Yes ;  but  then  there's  more 
than  one  kind  of  work  for  chil- 
dren to  do." 


ELIZABETH   AND    HER   NIECE   CLO.       59 

"  What  should  you  think  I 
could  do  ]  "  asked  Franky.  "  I  am 
in  my  eighth  year,  you  know,  and 
aunty  says  she  thinks  that  I  am 
tall  for  my  age." 

"  So  I  think,"  said  Elizabeth, 
laughing,  as  Franky  straightened 
himself  up  against  the  wall.  "  I 
should  say  the  best  thing  for  you 
to  do  is  to  try  to  be  a  good  boy." 

"  Dear  me ! "  said  Franky,  with 
a  real  pout ;  "  that  is  what  every- 
body says,  and  I  think  it  is  too 
bad,  when  I  am  trying  as  hard  as 
I  can!  I  thought  you  would  tell 
me  something  new,  Elizabeth." 


60  FRAXKY'S  WORK. 

"Well,  I  can't,  Franky,"  said 
Elizabeth ;  "  but  there's  this  thing 
you  may  be  sure  of:  if  you  look 
sharp,  you  will  always  find  work 
enough  to  do  in  this  world,  only 
you  must  not  expect  to  have  great 
things  to  do,  —  I  mean  things  that 
seem  great  to  you.  Once,  when  I 
was  a  little  girl,  not  bigger  than 
you,  I  guess,  I  went  out  in  the 
yard,  and  I  saw  ever  so  many  lit- 
tle ants  busy  at  work  in  the  path. 
They  were  running  about  here  and 
there ;  but  I  found  they  all  came 
back  to  one  particular  spot ;  and 
when  they  came,  each  one  brought 


ELIZABETH   AND    HER   NTECE   CLO.      61 

a  grain  of  sand  in  his  mouth. 
Well,  I  sat  on  the  grass  and 
watched  them  a  long  time.  By 
and  by  I  found  there  was  a  bit 
of  a  hole  in  the  ground,  and 
some  of  the  little  fellows  came  up 
out  of  it,  and  some  ran  down  in- 
to it,  and  every  one  had  his 
grain  of  sand.  After  a  while,  my 
mother  came  along  and  asked  me 
what  1  was  looking  at,  and  when 
I  told  her,  she  said, — 

"  The  ants  are  busy  and  pa- 
tient little  creatures,  Elizabeth. 
They  are  always  at  work ;  they 
are  making  their  house  right  in 


62  FRANKY'S  WORK. 

the  path,  and  when  any  one 
comes  in  very  likely  their  house 
will  be  stepped  on  and  destroyed ; 
but  they  will  go  right  to  work 
again  and  build  another. 

"  -  Mother,'  said  I,  'I  should 
think  they  would  get  tired ;  they 
only  carry  one  little  grain  at  a 
time,  and  I  should  think  it  would 
take  as  many  as  a  million  to. 
make  one  house.' 

"  c  Well,'  said  mother,  c  they 
don't  seem  to  get  tired ;  but  I 
want  to  tell  you  one  thing  that  I 
would  like  to  have  you  always 
remember,  Elizabeth.  It  is  the 


ELIZABETH   AND   HER   NIECE    CLO.      63 

little  things  that  make  the  great 
things.1  I  didn't  understand  exact- 
ly what  she  meant  then,  and  I 
don't  suppose  you  and  Nellie  will ; 
but  I  remembered  it;  and  I  found 
what  she  said  was  true.  There's 
a  hymn  about  that  that  Clo. 
sings.  Perhaps  you  know  it, 
Franky]  It  begins 

*  Little  drops  of  water.'  " 

"  Oh,  yes,"  said  Franky ;  "I 
know  every  word  of  it."  And  at 
Elizabeth's  request  he  and  Nellie 
sung  together,  — 

"  Little  drops  of  water, 
Little  grains  of  sand, 


64  FRANKY'S  WORK. 

Make  the  mighty  ocean, 
And  the  pleasant  land. 

"  And  the  little  moments, 

Humble  though  they  be, 
Make  the  mighty  ages 
Of  eternity. 

"  So  our  little  errors 

Lead  the  soul  away 

From  the  paths  of  virtue 

Oft  in  sin  to  stray. 

"  Little  deeds  of  kindness, 

Little  words  of  love, 
Make  our  earth  an  Eden, 
Like  the  heaven  above. 

"  Little  seeds  of  mercy, 

Sown  by  youthful  hands, 
Grow  to  bless  the  nations 
Far  in  heathen  lands." 

Just    as     the     children     finished 


ELIZABETH   AND    HER   NIECE    CLO.       65 

their  song,  aunty  came  down-stairs 
dressed  to  go  out. 

u  Mamma  thinks  you  have  stayed 
with  Elizabeth  a  very  long  hour," 
she  said,  smiling.  "  I  am  going 
to  take  a  walk,  and  Franky  may 
go  with  me  if  he  likes." 

"  Can't  I  go  too,  aunty  1 "  asked 
Nellie,  in  a  very  mournful  voice, 
and  just  ready  to  cry. 

"Not  to-day,  darling,"  said  aun- 
ty. "  I  will  take  you  to  morrow, 
perhaps,  if  you  are  a  good  little 
girl." 

"Well,  I  don't  want  Franky  to 
go  if  I  don't,"  said  Nellie. 


66  FRANKY'S  WORK. 

"  Ah,"  said  aunty,  "  naughty  Mr. 
Selfishness  has  hopped  .into  your 
heart,  Nellie,  and  you  must  fight 
him  with  all  your  might,  if  you 
are  a  little  conqueror." 

So  Nellie  jumped  down  from 
her  chair,  and  brushed  away  her 
tears,  and  ran  .up-stairs  to  mamma 
as  fast  as  she  could  scramble, 
while  aunty  and  Franky  set  forth 
on  their  walk.  You  see  Nellie 
thought  she  could  fight  Mr.  Self- 
ishness better  if  she  was  close  be- 
side her  mamma. 


CHAPTEE  V, 

A  NEW  ACQUAINTANCE. 

have  some 
sh  o  p  p  i  n  g 
to  do,  Fran- 
ky,"  said 
aunty,  as 
they  walked 
down  the 
street  hand 
in  hand. 
"  Have  you]"  said  Franky. 

"  What    do    you    think     you    will 

buy  ? " 


68  FRANKY'S  WORK. 

"  Oh,  some  things  for  your 
mamma,  —  nothing  that  you  will 
care  about." 

"  I  don't  want  to  go  shopping, 
aunty/* 

"  Well,  you  needn't,"  said  aunty. 
u  You  may  stand  by  the  door 
while  I  am  busy,  if  you  will  not 
get  in  anybody's  way." 

So  when  they  reached  the 
place  where  aunty  wished  to  stop, 
she  left  Franky  just  inside  the 
door,  bidding  him  wait  there  until 
she  came  for  him. 

Franky  thought  he  would  never 
be  tired  of  looking  out  through  the 


A   NEW   ACQUAINTANCE.  69 

big  glass  at  the  people  who  were 
hurrying  along ;  but  it  was  not 
long  before  he  began  to  wish  for 
some  other  occupation.  Quite  near 
him,  there  stood  a  little  lad  a 
number  of  years  older  than 
Franky ;  and  every  time  a  lady 
came  up  to  the  door,  either  to 
come  in  or  go  out,  he  would  open 
it  for  her  and  close  it  again. 
Franky  thought  he  must  be  a 
very  polite  boy,  and  he  decided  to 
speak  to  him.  So  by  and  by, 
when  he  saw  there  was  no  one 
very  near,  he  just  pulled  the  lad 
by  the  sleeve,  and  said  he, — 


70  FRANKY'S  WORK. 

"  Little  boy,  are  you  waiting  for 
your  aunty  1  " 

"Well,  I  don't  think  I  am,"  re- 
plied the.  boy,  looking  down  upon 
Frauky,  and  laughing. 

"  I  think  you  are  real  polite 
to  open  the  door  every  time  any- 
body comes,"  said  Franky.  / 

"  It's  my  business,"  said  the 
boy,  in  an  important  tone. 

"Oh,"  said  Franky,  "I  didn't 
know  that.  Do  you  like  it  ? " 

"  I  can't  say  I  do  very  well  ; 
but  I'm  bound  to  do  something." 

"  Well,"  said  Franky,  "  I'd  like 
to  know  how  old  you  are." 


A   NEW   ACQUAINTANCE.  71 

"  I'm  in  my  tenth  year,"  replied 
the  boy. 

"  Oh,  dear !  "  said  Frank.  "  I'll 
be  glad  when  I'm  in  my  tenth 
year ;  then  I  can  do  something." 

Frank's  new  acquaintance  did 
not  appear  to  take  much  notice  of 
this  remark ;  for  just  then  a  fine 
carriage  stopped  before  the  door, 
and  two  or  three  ladies,  elegantly 
dressed,  prepared  to  alight. 

4 '  That's  a  bully  team!"  said 
the  boy,  when  the  ladies  had 
swept  past  them.  .  "  I  tell  you,  sir, 
that's  the  sort  I  mean  to  have 
sometime." 


72  FRANKY'S  WORK. 

"What's   bully?"     asked   Frank. 

Then  the  boy  laughed.  "  Oh, 
you  don't  know  anything,"  said 
he.  "  You're  nothing  but  a  baby  ! 
Don't  you  know  bully  ?  " 

"  No,  I  don't,"  said  Franky ; 
"  and  you  aren't  so  polite  as  I 
thought  you  were.  My  papa's  a 
minister,  and  I  guess  he  knows 
more'n  any  little  boy's  papa  in 
this  store,  and  so  does  my  mamma 
and  my  aunty." 

"  Well,  you  needn't  cry  about 
it,  you  little  goose ! "  for  the 
tears  sprung  to  Franky's  eyes. 
"  We  fellows  call  a  thing  that. 


j 


A   NEW   ACQUAINTANCE.  73 

we  like  bully ;  that's  all  there 
is  to  it.  Say,  now,  a'n't  those 
the  handsomest  horses  that  ever 
you  saw  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  Franky. 
"  I  guess  my  grandpa  has  got  a 
colt  that  is  handsomer.  It  is 
just  as  hlack  as  anything,  and  its 
tail  'most  touches  the  ground.  Do 
you  go  to  my  papa's  meeting  I " 

"  I  don't  know  who  your  father 
is,  I'm  sure." 

"  Don't  know  who  my  papa 
is ! "  repeated  Franky,  looking 
very  much  surprised.  "  Why,  his 
name  is  the  Rev.  Mr.  Malov." 


74  FRAXKY'S  WORK. 

Here  Franky's  new  acquaint- 
ance burst  into  another  laugh, 
and  beckoned  to  a  lad  of  about 
his  own  age  who  was  leaning 
against  a  counter ;  but  just  then 
some  one  called  "  Cash ! "  in  a 
very  loud  voice,  and  off  he  ran  in 
another  direction. 

"  Is  that  little  boy's  name 
Cash  I "  asked  Franky,  seriously. 

"  Some  call  him  Cash  and  some 
call  him  Bob,  but  he's  called 
Cash  more  in  this  store  than 
anything  else." 

"  Well,  what  is  your  name  ] " 
asked  Franky. 


A   NEW   ACQUAINTANCE.  75 

"  Harry  Ballard.    What's  yours  ]  " 
"  Frank  Harley  Maloy." 
"Oh,    then    it    isn't    Rev.     Mr. 
Frank   Maloy  1  " 

"  Why,  no  ?  I'm  not  a  minis- 
ter ;  but  I  mean  to  be,  Harry, 
either  a  minister  or  a  drummer; 
I  don't  know  which." 

"  A  bully  drummer  you'd  make  ?  " 
"  I    can    drum    as    well    as    any- 
body in  this  city ! "  retorted  Franky, 
his   face   flushing    with    indignation 

o  o 

at  the  sneering  tone  in  which 
Harry  spoke.  "  I've  got  a  splen- 
did drum  at  home  that  my  uncle 
gave  me~;  it  cost  a  lot  of  money." 


76  FRANKY'S  WORK. 

"  Well,"  said  Harry,  "  I  guess 
if  you  are  going  to  be  a  minis- 
ter, you'll  have  to  learn  to  keep 
your  temper." 

At  this,  poor  Franky's  eyes  fell, 
and  his  lips  quivered.  He  had 
forgotten  that  he  was  trying  to  be 
a  little  conqueror. 

"  I  didn't  mean  to  be  naughty," 
he  said,  presently ;  "  but  I  don't 
think  it's  just  right  for  you  to  say 
how  I  can't  do  things  when  I 
know  I  can." 

"  Oh,  I  only  said  it  to  plague 
you,"  said  Harry,  good-naturedly. 
"  You're  a  pretty  good  boy,  I  think." 


A   NEW   ACQUAINTANCE.  77 

Just  then,  Franky  caught  sight 
of  aunty  coming  towards  him,  and 
his  face  brightened. 

"  There ! "  said  he,  "  I'm  real 
glad  she's  coming,  for  I  want  to 
go  home.  But,  Harry,  you  didn't 
tell  me  if  you  went  to  my  papa's 
meeting  I  " 

"  Well,  I  don't,"  said  Harry. 
"I'm  tired  enough  to  lie  in  bed 
Sundays,  when  I  don't  go  to  ride 
or  walk." 

"  Why !  don't  you  go  to  Sun- 
day-school I "  asked  Franky. 

"  No,  I  don't,  and  I  don't  want 
to,"  said  Harry,  shortly. 


78  FRANKY'S  WORK. 

"  I  should  think  you  might," 
said  Franky.  "  Why  can't  you 
come  to  my  papa's  Sunday-school] 
I  guess  it'll  be  real  nice." 

"  I  don't  care  if  it  is,"  said 
Harry ;  and  then,  as  Frank  fol- 
lowed aunty  out  of  the  store,  he 
added,  laughiug,  "  Give  my  regards 
to  the  llev.  Mr.  Maloy." 

"  Yes,  I  will,"  said  Franky. 
"  Good-by." 


CHAPTEE  VI, 

TALKS  WITH  PAPA   AND   MAMMA. 

E  A  N  K  Y 

was  more 
quiet  than 
usual  while 
he  and  his 
aunty  were 
walking. 
He  was 
thinking 
about  his  new  acquaintance,  and 
wondering  what  he  found  to  laugh 
at  in  their  conversation.  After  sup- 


80  FRANKY'S  WORK. 

per  he  went  to  his  papa  who  sat 
by  the  front  window  reading,  and 
climbed  upon  his  knee. 

44  Papa,"   said   he. 

"  What   is  it,   my   son  ? " 

"  Harry  Ballard  wanted  me  to 
give  his  regards  to  you." 

"And  who  is  Harry  Ballard, 
Franky?" 

"  Why,  he's  the  little  boy  that 
opens  the  door  for  the  ladies  at 
the  store  where  I  and  aunty  went 
to-day." 

"  So  you  made  his  acquaintance 
while  you  were  waiting  for  aunty; 
did  you  ?  " 


TALKS   WITH   PAPA   AND    MAMMA.       81 

"  Yes,  sir ;  and  I  asked  him  to 
go  to  your  Sunday-school,  and  he 
said  he  wouldn't,  'cause  he  didn't 
want  to.  I  think  he  might ; 
don't  you,  papa  ?  " 

"How    old    was    he,    Franky?" 

"  He  said  he  was  in  his  tenth 
year." 

"  Poor  little  fellow  !  "   said  papa. 

"  Why,  I  don't  think  he  was 
very  poor,"  said  Franky.  "  He 
had  a  real  pretty  jacket  on,  and 
some  nice  shoes,  —  as  nice  as 
mine." 

"  It  was  not  that  kind  of  poor 
that  I  meant,"  replied  papa. 


82  FRANKY'S  WORK. 

"  What  kind  was  it,  papa  \ " 
asked  Franky. 

"  It  wouldn't  hurt  your  soul, 
Franky,  if  you  were  obliged  to 
wear  a  ragged  jacket,  and  run 
about  the  house  with  bare  feet ; 
would  it  ] " 

"No,  sir,  I  guess  not,"  replied 
Franky,  after  a  moment's  hesita- 
tion. 

'*  But  suppose  you  did  not  love 
to  hear  about  Jesus,  and  cared 
nothing  for  Sunday-school,  or  the 
Bible,  or  church,  do  you  think 
that  nice  jackets  and  shoes  would 
make  up  for  it?" 


TALKS   WITH  MAMMA   AND    PAPA.       83 

"  No,  sir,"  said  Franky,  "  I  don't 
think  they  would." 

"  Indeed,  they  would  not,"  said 
papa.  "  You  would  be  a  poor  lit- 
tle boy,  just  as  I  fear  Harry  may 
be,  because  your  soul  would  be 
in  want  of  food ;  and  that  was 
what  I  meant  when  I  called  Har- 
ry a  poor  little  fellow.  Do  you 
understand  ] " 

"  Yes,  sir,  I  do,"  said  Franky ; 
"  and  I  do  wish  he  would  be  a 
good  boy.  Can't  you  coax  him, 
papa?  I  can  go  with  you  and 
show  you  the  way,  if  aunty  will 
go  too." 


84  FRANK  Y'S   WORK. 

"  I  will  see  what  can  be  done 
for  him,"  said  Mr.  Maloy,  strok- 
ing Franky's  short  curls  witE  his 
fingers ;  "  but  there  is  something 
more  that  you  can  do  for  him." 

c;  What  is  it,  papa  ?  I  don't 
know  of  anything  else." 

"  You  can  ask  God  to  put  it 
in  Harry's  heart  to  come  to  the 
Sunday-school.  You  can  pray  for 
him,  my  son." 

;t  Oh,  yes,"  said  Franky,  "  so 
I  can.  I  don't  see  why  I  didn't 
think  of  that  my  own  self.  I'll 
do  it  this  very  night  when  I  go 
to  bed." 


TALKS   WITH   PAPA    AND    MAMMA.        85 

"  And  it  is  time  for  you  to  go 
to  bed  now,  my  little  man,"  said 
mamma,  coming  in  from  the  back- 
parlor  just  in  season  to  hear 
Franky's  last  words.  "  Bid  papa 
good-night,  and  come  with  sleepy 
little  Nellie  and  me." 

Franky  would  have  preferred  to 
talk  with  his  papa  longer ;  but  he 
knew  when  mamma  called  he 
must  obey.  I  have  known  some 
children  to  snap  and  snarl  when 
they  were  reminded  that  their 
hour  for  bed  had  come,  "  I  don't 
want  to,  mamma,"  or,  "  Why  need 
I  go  just  yet  I  "  or,  "  I  think  I  might 


86  FRANK  Y'S    WORK. 

sit  up  longer,  mamma,"  or,  "  It's 
too  bad  that  I  have  to  go  to  bed 
just  when  I'm  having  a  good  time." 
But  Franky,  with  all  his  faults, 
never  thought  of  making  an  ob- 
jection when  mamma  called.  So 
he  kissed  his  papa  a  sweet  good- 
night, and  went  skipping  up  the 
stairs  just  in  front  of  mamma  and 
Nellie,  singing  as  he  went  a  lit- 
tle song  that  aunty  had  written 
expressly  for  him  :  — 

"  Little  lambs  are  in  the  fold  ; 

Little  birds  are  in  the  nest  ; 
Little  flowers  have  shut  their  eyes  ; 
Franky,  too,  must  go  to  rest." 


TALKS   WITH   PAPA    AND   MAMMA.        87 

That  was  all  there  was  to  the 
song ;  but  it  pleased  Franky  just 
as  much  as  though  there  had  been 
six  or  eight  verses ;  and  he  liked 
to  sing  it  over  and  over  again 
while  his  mamma  was  getting  him 
ready  for  bed. 

When  Franky  was  undressed, 
he  knelt  down  beside  his  little 
bed  to  pray.  First  he  said,  "  Our 
Father,"  then  "  Now  I  lay  me," 
and  afterward,  if  there  was  any- 
thing in  particular  that  he  wanted 
to  ask  for,  he  prayed  in  simple 
words  of  his  own.  On  this  night, 
his  thoughts  dwelt  very  much  up- 


FRANKY'S  WORK. 


on  Harry  ;  so,  when  he  had  re- 
.  peated  his  usual  prayers,  he  added 
this  little  prayer  for  his  new  ac- 
quaintance. • 

"  Oh,  dear  God !  please  to  make 
Harry  Ballard  want  to  go  to  my 
papa's  Sunday-school,  where  he 
may  learn  about  Jesus  and  the 
Bible ;  and  please  to  make  him  a 
little  conqueror  too.  Amen." 

You  see  this  was  a  very  simple 
little  prayer  ;  but  Franky  meant  it ; 
and  I  want  to  tell  you,  dear  chil- 
dren, God  loves  to  listen  to  little 
simple  prayers ;  they  are  the 
sweetest  offering  you  can  make  to 


TALKS    WITH   PAPA    AND    MAMMA.        89 

him,  if  they  come  straight  from 
your  heart,  and  you  may  be  sure 
that  he  will  answer  them  too. 

When  Franky  had  prayed,  he 
hopped  into  bed,  and  tucked  the 
sheet  and  blanket  up  under  his 
chin ;  then  he  just  raised  his  head 
the  least  bit  to  see  what  Nellie 
was  about.  Mamma  had  put  her 
in  her  crib  five  or  ten  minutes 
before ;  but  for  all  she  was  so 
slcopy  before  they  came  lip-stairs, 
Nellie  had  not  gone  to  sleep  yet. 
There  she  sat,  peeping  through 
the  slats  of  her  crib,  and  making 
up  such  funny  little  faces  at 


90  FRANKY'S  WORK. 

Franky  that  it  set  him  a-laugh- 
in£  so  loud  that  mamma  came  in 

o 

from  her  dressing-room  to  see 
what  was  the  matter. 

"  Hush,  hush ! "  she  said,  shak- 
ing her  head.  "  Franky,  what  are 
you  laughing  at  ?  " 

"  Oh,  dear,"  giggled  Franky,  "  I 
can't  help  it,  mamma ;  Nellie 
makes  me  laugh.  Aint  she  bully, 
mamma  I " 

"  Why,  Franky  Maloy ! "  ex- 
claimed mamma.  "  What  word 
is  that,  and  who  have  you  heard 
say  it  ?  " 

Franky   found   that    his    mamma 


TALKS   WITH    PAPA    AND    MAMMA.        91 

was  not  much  pleased  with  him 
for  using  such  an  expression,  and 
he  looked  rather  ashamed,  but 
replied,  — 

"  Harry  Ballard  says  all  the  fel- 
lows say  bully  when  they  see 
anything  they  like ;  and  I'm  sure 
I  like  Nellie." 

"It  is  not  a  nice  word  at  all, 
Franky,"  said  mamma.  "  I  hope 
you  will  not  use  it  again." 

"  Is  it  swearing,  mamma  I  "  asked 
Franky,  anxiously. 

"  No,  dear ;  but  it  is  a  foolish, 
slang  word,  that  means  really 
nothing.  I  should  be  very  much 


92  FRANKY'S  WORK. 

grieved  to  have  my  little  boy  use 
any  expressions  of  the  kind." 

"  I  wont  mamma,  I  wont," 
said  Franky.  "  I  am  sorry  I  said 
bully,  and  I  don't  mean  to  say  it 
again ;  for,  very  likely,  mamma, 
Nellie  would  learn  it  too,  and  it 
would  be  horrider  for  her  than  it 
is  for  me." 

"  Well,"  said  mamma,  "  I  hope 
you  will  remember,  Franky.  And 
now  it  is  time  you  were  both 
asleep.  I  will  sit  here  by  the 
window  and  sing  to  you  a  few 
minutes  if  you  would  like  it." 

a  Oh,    yes,     do,    mamma    dear," 


TALKS   WITH  PAPA    AND   MAMMA.       93 

said  Franky,  turning  his  face  res- 
olutely away  from  Nellie's  crib, 
and  closing  his  eyes.  So  mamma 
sung  two  or  three  little  hymns, 
and  in  about  five  minutes  both 
the  children  were  fast  asleep. 
Then  she  kissed  them  softly,  and 
went  down-stairs. 


CHAPTER  VII, 

FRANKY   AND    THE   STREET   BOYS. 


RANKY 


sitting 


was 
one 

<  n 


the  front-door 
steps  playing 
with  his  cup 
and  ball.  It 
was  quite  a 
cool  morning, 
and  Franky 
had  his  com- 
forter tied  round  his  neck,  and  the 


FRANKY   AND   THE   STREET   BOYS.       95 

mittens  on  his  hands  that  his  grand- 
ma had  just  sent  him  for  a  birthday 
present.  He  liked  to  sit  on  the 
steps  very  well ;  and  as  there  was 
no  yard  for  him  to  play  in,  Mrs. 
Maloy  sometimes  gave  him  leave  to 
do  so,  on  condition  that  he  would 
not  go  away  from  the  house. 
Franky  was  so  much  interested  in 
his  cup  and  ball,  which  was  an- 
other birthday  present,  that  he  had 
not  taken  notice  of  any  of  the  pass- 
ers-by until  some  one  said  in  a  gruff 
voice,  almost  at  his  elbow,  — 

"  What  d'ye  call  that  'ere  thing  ?  " 
"  It's     my  cup     and    ball,"    said 


96  FRAIs^Y'S    WORK. 


Franky,  looking  up  into  the  dirty 
face  of  a  boy  several  years  older, 
and  a  head  and  shoulders  taller 
than  himself. 

"  Do  you  live  in  here  I  "  asked 
the  boy,  pointing  to  the  door. 

u  Yes,"     said    Franky,    "  I    do." 

c;  Well,  can't  you  give  a  fellow 
something  to  eat?  I  haint  had  so 
much  as  a  crust  of  bread  since 
yesterday  at  this  time." 

"  Haven't  you  ?  "  said  Franky. 
"  How  hungry  you  must  be  !  " 

"  I  am  as  hungry  as  a  bear, 
and  cold  too.  What  a  nice  com- 
forter you've  got  on  !  " 


FRANK Y  AND  THE  STREET  BOYS.   97 

"  Yes,  it  is,"  said  Franky. 
"  My  aunty  gave  it  to  me." 

"  I  wish  she'd  give  me  one," 
said  the  boy.  "Don't  you  believe 
she  would  ? " 

"  I  guess  so,"  said  Franky ; 
"  she  is  real  good.  You  wait 
here  a  minute,  and  I'll  go  and 
ask  her." 

"  No,"  said  the  boy ;  "  I'll  tell 
you  a  better  way'n  that.  I'm  in 
an  awful  hurry ;  I've  got  to  go 
ever  so  far  this  morning,  and  I 
know  I  shall  get  my  death  a  cold 
'nless  I  have  something  round  my 
neck ;  so  you  might  le'me  have 


FRANKY'S  WORK. 


your  tippet,  and  then  get  your 
aunty  to  make  another  just  like  it." 

'•  I  don't  like  that  way,"  said 
Franky.  "  I'd  rather  keep  what 
aunty  gave  me  my  own  self." 

"  Oh,  then  you're  stingy ! "  said 
the  boy.  "  I  wouldn't  be  stingy  if 
I  lived  in  a  big  house  and  had 
nice  things,  and  you  should  come 
by  without  anything  on  your  neck. 
I'd  give  you  my  tippet  in  a  min- 
ute." 

Franky  looked  very  much  dis- 
turbed; for  he  began  to  be  afraid 
that  he  was  really  selfish  ;  and 
then  he  thought  of  the  "  Golden 


FRANKY   AND   THE   STREET   BOYS.       99 

Rule,"  which  he  learned  when  he 
was  a  very  small  child.  By  and 
by  he  unfastened  his  comforter 
and  handed  it  to  the  boy,  who 
caught  it  eagerly,  and  without  stop- 
ping to  say,  "  Thank  you,"  rushed 
off  down  the  street.  Franky  sat 
looking  after  him  until  he  disap- 
peared round  a  corner,  when  he 
got  up  and  went  into  the  house. 
Aunty  was  just  coming  down  the 
stairs. 

"  Where  is  your  comforter, 
Franky  ? "  she  said.  "It  is  too 
cold  for  you  to  be  without  it." 

"  I  just   gave  it   away  to  a  poor 


100  FRANKY'S  WORK. 

little  boy  that  hadn't  any  shoes 
and  stockings  on." 

"  Why,  Franky  ! "  exclaimed 
aunty.  "  You  ought  not  to  have 
given  your  comforter  away ;  mam- 
ma will  not  like  it  at  all." 

Upon  this   Franky  began  to  cry. 

"  I  can  knit  you  another,  little 
boy,"  said  aunty ;  "  but  don't  you 
see  you  cannot  afford  to  give  a 
comforter  to  every  poor  boy  you 
see  in  the  street?  Your  papa 
and  mamma  will  have  to  help 
the  poor  children  and  their  par- 
ents that  attend  papa's  meeting ; 
and  you  must  never  give  away 


FRANKY   AND   THE   STREET   BOYS.     101 

anything  without  first  asking  their 
leave." 

"  I  didn't  want  to  be  selfish," 
sobbed  Franky.  "  He  said  how  I 
was  stingy,  and  how  he'd  give  me 
his  comforter  if  he  lived  -here, 
and  I  was  a  poor  boy ;  and  you 
and  mamma  told  me  I  must  fight 
against  selfishness,  and  I  did,  real 
hard,  aunty ;  for  I  didn't  want  to 
give  it  away." 

"  Well,  never  mind,"  said  aunty, 
kindly.  "  You  meant  to  do  right ; 
so  wipe  your  tears  away;  only  re- 
member, dear,  and  ask  leave  next 
time  any  little  boy  or  girl  begs  for 


102  FRANKY'S  WORK. 

your  clothes,  or  for  anything  else  ; 
will  you  ?  " 

"  Yes,'.'  said  Franky,  "  I  will 
remember,  aunty." 

Another  morning  as  Franky  sat 
on  the  doorstep,  a  boy  considera- 
bly larger  and  stouter  than  him- 
self came  and  sat  down  near  him. 

'*  Halloo !  "  said  he,  "  wrhat  are 
you  doing  ?  " 

"  I'm  playing  with  my  cup  and 
ball,"  said  Franky ;  "  but  I  guess  I 
shall  go  into  the  house  now." 

"  I  wouldn't,"  said  the  boy. 
"  Let's  see  how  many  times  you 
can  catch  it." 


FRANKY   AND   THE   STREET   BOYS.    103 

"  No,"  said  Fr^nky,  "  I  don  t 
want  to.  I'm  not  going  to  play 
any  more  now." 

"  You  aint  'fraid  o'  me ;  are 
you  ? " 

"  No,"  said  Franky,  drawing  up 
his  little  figure.  "  I  guess  I  am 
not  afraid  of  anybody.  What  is 
your  name  I " 

"  Tom  Bass,"  replied  the  boy, 
promptly. 

"  Well,  what  do  you  want  of 
me?" 

"  I'm  real  hungry,"  replied  Tom. 
"  I  wish  you'd  give  me  something 
to  eat." 


104  FRANK  Y'S   WORK. 

"  Where  do  ^ou  live  ? "  asked 
Franky. 

"  I  ha'n't  got  no  home  ;  I  sleep 
anywhere  I  can  get  a  chance,  and 
in  the  daytime  I  stay  round." 

"  Haven't  you  any  father  or 
mother  ]  " 

"  Xo,  they're  both  dead,  I  guess. 
I  don't  remember  nothing  of  'em." 

"  Dear  me,"  sighed  Franky. 
"  What  a  poor  little  boy  !  I  don't 
know  what  I  should  do  without 
my  papa  and  mamma.  Then  you 
don't  go  to  church  or  to  the  Sun- 
day-school ;  do  you  ? "  he  asked,  af- 
ter a  pause. 


FRANKY    AND    THE   STREET   BOYS.     105 

"  No,"  said  Tom.  "  I  don't  go 
to  nothing." 

"  It's  real  nice,"  said  Franky. 
"  Wouldn't  you  like  to  go  if  you 
had  some  nice  clothes  like  mine 
to  wear  I  " 

"  I  reckon  I  would,"  said  Tom, 
laughing,  "  But  I  sha'n't  never 
have  no  nice  clothes  like  your'u 
to  wear." 

"You  come  in1  the  house  with 
me."  said  Franky,  "  and  I  will  ask 
my  mamma  to  give  you  something 
to  eat  ;  and  I  know  she  will  fix 
you  up  so  you  can  go  to  the  Sun- 
day-school." 


106  FRAXKY'S  WORK. 

c;  Bully  for  you ! "  exclaimed 
Tom,  clapping  Franky  on  the 
shoulder. 

"  Now  you  mustn't  say  that 
word,  Tom,"  said  Franky,  stopping 
short  in  the  hall.  "  My  mamma 
doesn't  allow  me  to  say  it,  because 
it  is  foolish  slang,  and  don't  mean 
anything.  I  don't  want  you  to 
say  it." 

"Well,  I  wont,  if  I  can  help 
it,"  said  Tom.  "  But  I've  kind  o' 
got  used  to  it,  and  it'll  be  hard 
leaving  it  off,  I  guess." 

Mrs.  Maloy  and  aunty  sat  sew- 
ing in  the  parlor  when  Franky 


FRANKY   AND   THE   STREET    BOYS.     107 

opened  the  door  and  drew  Tom 
along  with  him  by  the  hand. 

"  Mamma,"  said  he,  "  here's  a 
little  boy  that  is  very  hungry ; 
and  he  hasn't  any  papa  and  mam- 
ma, nor  any  home  ;  and  he  will 
go  to  Sunday-school  if  you  will 
give  him  some  clothes.  Will  you 
give  him  some,  mamma  I  " 

"  I  will  see  about  it,"  said 
mamma. 

Then  aunty  laid  aside  her 
work  and  told  Tom  that  he 
might  go  with  her  to  the  kitch- 
en, and  get  some  breakfast. 

"  Now    wont    it     be    real     nice, 


108  FRAXKY'S  WORK. 

mamma,  if  I  can  get  him  into 
Sunday-school,"  said  Franky,  when 
they  had  left  the  room.  "  Wont 
it  really  be  helping  papa  about 
his  work?" 

"  Yes,  I  think  it  will,  Franky," 
said  Mrs.  Maloy.  "  It  is  a  great 
thing  to  put  a  single  soul  in  the 
way  of  learning  about  Jesus 
Christ.  We  cannot  tell  what 
good  and  great  results  will  spring 
from  little  beginnings." 

"  Mamma/'  said  Franky,  "  do 
you  think  that  any  of  my  clothes 
will  do  for  TomT' 

"  Oh,    no,    dear ;    he    is    larger 


PRANKY   AND   THE   STREET   BOYS.     109 

and  stouter  than  you.  He  could 
not  get  your  jacket  on." 

"  Then  what  will  he  do  for 
some  clothes  to  wear  ? "  asked 
Franky,  in  a  despondent  voice. 

"  I  think  I  can  find  some 
clothes  for  him,"  replied  mamma, 
smiling.  "  But  we  want  to  be  sure 
that  he  will  go  to  Sunday-school 
first." 

"  When  will  Sunday  come, 
mamma  I " 

"  To-morrow,  Franky.  Don't 
you  know  to-day  is  Saturday?" 

"  Oh,  yes,  I  forgot.  Can  Tom 
go  to-morrow  ? " 


110  FRANKY'S  WORK. 

"  I  think  so.  He  may  go  one 
Sunday  in  his  ragged  clothes." 

"  I  don't  think  he  will  look 
very  pretty,"  said  Franky. 

"  He  will  not,"  replied  mam- 
ma ;  "  but  if  he  has  a  clean  face 
and  hands,  it  will  be  better  for 
him  to  go  to  Sunday-school  than 
to  be  about  the  streets." 

"  But  who  will  show  him  the 
way,  mamma  ? " 

<c  Wont  you,  Franky  ?  " 

Franky  looked  down  upon  his 
pretty  gaiters  and  white  stockings, 
and  was  silent  until  mamma  again 
asked,  — 


FRANKY   AND   THE   STREET   BOYS.    Ill 

"  Wont  you  go  with  Tom  and 
show  him  the  way?" 

"  With  his  old  clothes  on, 
mamma  ?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  I  don't  believe  I  want  to  ;  he 
looks  so  ragged,  mamma.  I  don't 
guess  you  saw  the  big  hole  in 
both  his  jacket  sleeves." 

"  Yes,  I  did,  Franky ;  his 
clothes  are  very  ragged  indeed ; 
but  I  suppose  God  loves  him  and 
pities  him  ;  don't  you  1 " 

"  Yes,  mamma,"  replied  Franky, 
growing  red  in  the  face. 

"  Do     you    suppose    God     loves 


112  FRANKY'S  WORK. 

you  any  better,  Franky,  because 
you  have  a  nice  jacket  and  trou- 
sers, and  pretty  gaiters  and  white 
stockings  ?  " 

"  No,  mamma.  Well,  111  go 
with  Tom,  if  you  want  me  to ; 
but  the  boysll  laugh  at  me ;  I 
know  they  will." 

"Papa  would  not  laugh  at  you, 
Franky,  neither  would  aunty  or  I." 

"  I  know  it ;  and  it  is  no  mat- 
ter if  boys  do  laugh,"  said 
Franky,  drawing  a  long  sigh. 
"  What  do  you  suppose  makes  me 
not  want  to  go  to  Sunday-school 
with  Tom,  mamma  ?  "  « 


FRANKY   AND    THE    STREET   BOYS.     113 

"  Oh,  I  think  it  is  a  rebel  in 
your  heart." 

"  What   is   his   name,  mamma  ?  " 

"  Pride.  You  must  watch  him 
very  closely,  Franky,  or  he  will 
get  such  a  hold  there  that  it  will 
he  very  hard  to  drive  him  away. 
Don't  you  see  how  he  made  you 
feel  unwilling  to  be  seen  in  the 
street  and  at  church  with  a  little 
ragged  boy?  He  made  you  afraid 
of  being  laughed  at." 

"  Yes,  he  did,"  said  Franky ; 
"  but  I  don't  mean  to  mind  him 
any  more." 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

TOM. 

U  N  D  A  Y 

morning 
Tom  made 
his  appear- 
an  c  e  at 
eight,  as 
Mrs.  Maloy 
had  direct- 
ed him  to 
do.  Elizabeth  had  a  big  basin  of 
water,  a  piece  of  soap,  and  a 
coarse  towel  waiting  for  him  in 


TOM.  115 

the  wash-room  on  a  bench,  whith- 
er she  led  him  as  soon  as  he 
entered  the  house.  When  he  was 
washed,  and  the  coarse  locks  of 
black  hair  were  combed  out,  and  a 
tidy  jacket  and  pair  of  shoes  that 
Mrs.  Maloy  had  found  for  liim 
were  put  on,  Tom  looked  like  a 
different  boy.  He  was  so  delight- 
ed with  his  improved  appearance 
that  he  capered  up  and  down  be- 
fore the  looking-glass,  and  when 
Franky  came  into  the  kitchen,  he 
seized  him  by  the  hands,  and  tried 
to  make  him  dance  too.  But 
Franky  said,  very  seriously, — 


116  FRANKY'S  WORK. 

"  Stop,  little  boy!  don't  you 
know  this  is  Sunday  ? " 

"  Why,  yes,"  laughed  Tom,  "  I 
guess  I  do.  I  sha'n't  never  for- 
get that  it  was  Sunday  as  I  had 
a  new  jacket  and  shoes  and  a 
good  washing.  I  call  it  jolly ! " 

"Well,"  said  Franky.  "  It  isn't 
right  to  dance." 

"  Why   not  ?  " 

"  'Cause  it  is  the  Lord's  day,  and 
we  must  keep  it  holy.  Don't  you 
know  the  commandment  that  says 
so?" 

"  Commandment'? "  repeated  Tom, 
vacantly. 


TOM.  117 

"  Why,  yes,  the  fourth  command- 
ment," said  Franky,  almost  im- 
patiently. Then  recollecting  that 
Tom  had  never  attended  Sunday- 
school,  and  also  that  he  had  no 
father  or  mother  to  teach  him, 
he  added,  "  I  guess  you'll  learn 
all  about  it  to-day,  or  pretty  soon 
any  way." 

You  never  saw  anybody  so 
pleased  as  Tom  was  when  he  set 
forth  with  Franky  for  church  and 
Sunday-school.  They  two  walked 
on  a  few  steps  in  front  of  aunty 
and  Nellie,  and  Franky  had  just 
as  much  as  he  could  do  to  keep 


118  FRANKY'S  WORK. 

Tom  from  hopping  and  skipping 
along  the  pavement.  Franky  had 
had  quite  a  battle  with  pride 
about  going  to  church  in  company 
with  poor  ragged  Tom ;  but  I  am 
glad  to  say  that  pride  was  con- 
quered, and  the  little  fellow  now 
felt  quite  as  happy  as  though  his 
companion  had  been  the  nicest- 
looking  and  best-dressed  boy  in 
the  city  of  Boston.  To  be  sure, 
there  were  one  or  two  ill-bred 
children  that  laughed  as  Franky 
walked  up  to  the  superintendent's 
desk,  pulling  Tom  along  by  the 
hand;  but  Mr.  Lane,  the  superin- 


TOM.  119 

tendent,  and  Miss  Susie,  Franky's 
teacher,  said  that  they  were  very 
glad  that  he  had  brought  a  new 
scholar;  and  they  spoke  so  kindly 
and  smiled  so  sweetly  upon  him 
that  Franky  did  not  care  a  pin  for 
any  boy's  laughter. 

Tom  couldn't  say  his  letters, — 
not  one ;  so  he  was  put  into  a 
class  by  himself  until  he  should 
learn  them ;  and  whom  do  you 
suppose  he  had  for  a  teacher  ? 
Franky's  aunty.  He  was  glad 
enough  of  that,  you  may  be  sure ; 
•and  he  set  about  his  lesson  with 
such  diligence  and  interest  that  he 


120  FRANK YJS  WORK. 

learned  six  letters  perfectly  that 
very  morning,  which  proved  to 
aunty  that  he  was  a  bright,  in- 
telligent boy.  After  church  Tom 
followed  aunty  and  the  children 
home.  When  they  reached  the 
door,  there  he  was  close  behind 
them,  with  such  a  wistful  look  on 
his  face  that  aunty  asked  him,  — 
"  Well,  Tom,  do  you  want  to  go 
to  church  again  to-day  ] " 

44  Oh,   yes  !     I  like  it   first-rate." 
"  Then    you    may   come   in    and 
have     some    dinner,"     said     aunty, 
kindly.     "  And  where  are   you   go- 
ing  to   stay   to-night  I " 


TOM.  121 

"  I  don't  know,"  replied  Tom, 
carelessly.  "  I  can  stay  'most  any- 
wlivTe;  shouldn't  wonder  if  I  slep' 
out  door ;  it's  real  warm." 

"  Not  warm  enough  for  that, 
p  or  child,"  said  aunty,  looking 
from  him  to  Franky,  with  his 
thick  coat  and  cap  and  mittens. 

u  I've  done  it  lots  of  times 
when  it's  been  colder'n  'tis  now," 
said  Tom,  bravely.  kt  I  don't  care 
for  cold." 

"  I  should  think  you'd  freeze," 
said  Franky. 

"  I  never  did  yet,"  said  Torn, 
laughing.  "  I  froze  my  ears  once ; 


122  FRANKY'S  WORK. 

but  that's  nothing ;  I  keep  warm 
enough  'most  always." 

While  Tom  was  eating  his  din- 
ner, Elizabeth  read  aloud  to  him 
from  the  "  Child's  Paper,"  and  in 
the  mean  time  papa  and  mamma 
and  aunty  sat  at  the  table  in  the 
dining-room,  with  Franky  and  Nel- 
lie for  listeners,  talking  about  the 
poor,  friendless,  homeless  boy  who 
was  thus  cast  upon  their  care. 

Early  in  the  wreek,  Mr.  Maloy 
found  a  nice  home  for  Tom  in 
the  family  of  a  member  of  his 
church ;  and  here  Tom  still  lives . 
He  is  growing  up  a  trusty,  honest 


TOM.  123 

lad,  and  every  Sunday  finds  him 
in  his  seat  at  church  and  in  his 
place  at  the  Sunday-school  with 
his  lesson  well  learned.  Tom  was 
the  first  boy  that  Franky  got  in- 
to the  school,  and  he  felt  very 
happy  about  it,  because  it  seemed 
something  like  his  papa's  work, 
as,  indeed,  it  was.  For  without 
Franky 's  invitation,  Tom  might 
have  grown  up  a  profane,  wicked 
boy,  like  hundreds  and  thousands 
of  others. 


OHAPTEE  IX, 


THE   NEW   SCHOOLROOM. 


HEN    the 

children  had 
been  about 
a  month 
in  their 
new  home , 
Mrs.  Maloy 
thought  that 


aunty  had 
better  begin  her  school  again. 
They  were  not  much  pleased  to 
hear  this,  especially  Nellie.  • 


THE   NEW  SCHOOLROOM.  125 

"  Where  are  we  going  to  keep 
school  I "  she  asked,  in  a  whining 
tone.  "  We  haven't  got  any  big 
apple-tree  here,  nor  any  garden; 
it  isn't  pretty  a  bit,  only  just  in 
the  house." 

"  It  is  too  cold  to  have  our 
school  out  of  doors  now,  even  if 
we  had  a  garden,"  said  aunty, 
cheerfully.  "  Jack  Frost  would 
nip  our  noses  or  our  ears." 

"  Same  as  he  did  Tom's,"  said 
Franky.  "  I  wouldn't  want  my 
ears  nipped ;  but  I  don't  want 
school  in  the  house.  I  think  it 
is  real  horrid  !  " 


126  FRANKY'S  WORK. 

"  So  do  I,"  echoed  Nellie.  "  It 
is  real  horrid  !  " 

"  Then  you  would  prefer  not  to 
go  to  school  at  all,  I  suppose," 
said  mamma.  "  You  would  like 
to  grow  up  dunces  like  Fanny 
Flippant." 

t;  Who  was  Fanny  Flippant, 
mamma  ?  " 

"  Oh,  she  was  a  little  girl 
whose  papa  was  very  wealthy, 
and  he  allowed  her  to  do  just  as 
she  liked  always." 

"  I  should  think  that  would  be 
nice,"  said  Franky. 

"  So   Miss  Fanny   thought   while 


THE  NEW  SCHOOLROOM.  127 

she  was  a  little  girl,"  said  mam- 
ma. "  She  had  "beautiful  clothes 
to  wear,  and  servants  to  wait  up- 
on her ;  she  had  any  quantity  of 
toys  and  a  great  baby-house." 

"Oh,  wasn't  that  'plendid?"  }n- 
terrupted  Nellie.  "  I  wish  it  was 
me  had  it !  " 

"  Fanny  thought  it  was  splen- 
did for  a  few  days,"  said  mam- 
ma ;  "  but  she  soon  became  tired 
of  it,  and  wanted  something  new. 
Nobody  ever  thought  of  contra- 
dicting Miss  Fanny,  however  un- 
reasonable she  was  in  her  fancied 
wants;  but  nobody  loved  her,  ex- 


128  FRANKY'S  WORK. 

cept  her  father.  When  she  was 
old  enough  to  learn  to  read,  a 
very  nice  lady  was  brought  to  the 
house  to  teach  her." 

"  Was  she  as  nice  as  aunty  1 " 
asked  Nellie. 

"  I  cannot  say,"  replied  mamma, 
smiling. 

"  Did  Fanny  like  her  as  well  as 
we  like  aunty  1 "  persisted  Nellie. 

"  No,  I  think  not,"  said  mam- 
ma ;  "for  she  was  very  rude  to 
her,  and  would  not  try  to  learn 
her  letters ;  so  the  lady  went  to 
Fanny's  papa,  and  told  him  that 
she  must  go  away,  for  she 


THE   NEW   SCHOOLROOM.  129 

couldn't  teach  a  little  girl  who 
was  determined  not  to  learn.  Mr. 
Flippant  felt  very  sorry,  and  said 
that  he  would  talk  to  his  daugh- 
ter ;  but  as  soon  as  he  began  to 
do  so,  Fanny  began  to  pout  and 
cry,  and  look  so  unhappy  that  he 
told  her  she  need  not  learn  her 
letters  for  another  year,  and  the 
lady  might  go  away  and  teach 
some  other  little  girl." 

"  What  a  funny  papa  ! "  said 
Franky.  "  And  didn't  she  learn 
her  letters  at  all?" 

"  Not  until  she  was  ten  years 
old;  and  when  she  was  a  young 


130  FRANKY'S  WORK. 

lady  of  sixteen,  she  could  not  read 
a  page  without  stopping  to  spell 
every  word  of  three  syllables. 
Now,  Franky,  you  wouldn't  like  to 
grow  up  such  a  dunce  as  that ; 
would  you  ? " 

"  No,  indeed,"  said  Franky.  "  I 
mean  to  study  real  hard  just  as 
soon  as  aunty  begins  our  school." 

"  So  I  mean  to,"  said  Nellie,  who 
almost  always  followed  Franky's 
example. 

"  Where  shall  we  have  school, 
mamma  ?  "  asked  Franky.  "  Would- 
n't it  be  a  nice  place  in  the  back 
sitting-room!  " 


THE  NEW  SCHOQLROOM.  131 

"  There  is  a  nicer  place  than 
that,"  said  aunty.  "  You  and  Nel- 
lie come  with  me,  and  I  will 
show  you  where  it  is." 

So  they  caught  aunty  by  the 
hands,  arid  she  led  them  up  the 
front  stairs  into  a  nice  "little  cham- 
ber that  was  made  over  the  por- 
tico. There  was  a  pretty  carpet 
on  the  floor,  and  a  small  table 
and  three  or  four  low  chairs  and 
Nellie's  little  stool. 

"  Why,  it  is  all  fixed  for  our 
school ;  isn't  it  aunty  ?  Did  you 
do  it,  or  did  mamma  \ "  asked 
Franky,  delighted. 


132  FRANKY'S  WORK. 

"  Mamma  told  me  what  to  do, 
and  I  did  it,"  said  aunty.  "  I 
think  it  is  a  beautiful  little  room, 
and  just  the  right  size." 

"  So  do  I,"  said  Franky ;  and 
of  course  Nellie  added,  — 

"So    do   I." 

The  children  had  found  a  num- 
ber of  little  playmates  since  they 
came  to  live  in  the  city;  but 
there  were  two  that  they  liked 
better  than  any  other.  These  were 
James  and  Alice  Somers.  Their 
papa  was  the  gentleman  who  had 
given  poor  Tom  Bass  a  home  in 
his  house ;  and  as  they  lived  just 


THE   NEW  SCHOOLROOM.  133 

across  the  street,  the  little  people 
spent  a  great  many  hours  in  com- 
pany, and  played  very  happily  to- 
gether. 

When  Mrs.  Somers  learned  that 
aunty  had  a  little  school  for  her 
nephew  and  niece,  she  begged 
permission  to  send  James  and  Al- 
ice. Of  course,  the  children  were 
delighted  with  this,  and  coaxed 
aunty  until  she  good-naturedly  con- 
sented ;  so  now  there  were  foul- 
instead  of  two  s^telars  in  the 
school.  This  was  really  pleasant- 
er  and  better  than  the  old  way ; 
for  as  Franky  and  James  and  Al- 


134  FRANKY'S  WORK. 

ice  were  in  the  same  classes,  they 
helped  one  another.  Alice  was 
only  a  year  older  than  Nellie ; 
but  she  was  more  forward  in  her 
lessons,  because  she  was  very 
fond  of  study,  which  you  remem- 
ber Nellie  was  not.  But  when 
this  little  girl  found  that  Alice 
was  learning  as  rapidly  as  the 
boys,  ^she  began  to  think  that  it 
was  time  for  her  to  try. 

"  I  want  to  be  in  the  class 
with  Alice ,"*Jpie  said  to  aunty, 
one  morning. 

"  Then  you  will  have  to  leave 
your  doll  down-stairs,  I  think, 


THE   NEW   SCHOOLROOM.  135 

and  kitty  must  stay  in  the  kitch- 
en," said  aunty,  laughing ;  "  and 
you  must  study  instead  of  taking 
a  nap  in  school-time." 

"  I  only  just  took  a  nap  once, 
aunty,"  said  Nellie,  "  and  then  I 
was  so  sleepy  I  couldn't  help  it ; 
but  I  don't  mean  to  be  so  sleepy 
again.  I'm  going  to  get  real  big, 
long  lessons ;  wouldn't  you,  if  you 
were  me,  aunty  I  " 

"  Yes,  I  think  I  would,"  said 
aunty. 

So,  after  this,  Nellie  began  to 
improve  rapidly,  and  although  she 
could  not  overtake  Alice  and  the 


136  FRANK  Y'S  WORK. 

boys,  yet  she  was  soon  able  to 
read  simple  stories  without  spell- 
ing a  single  word. 


CHAPTEE  X, 


A   LETTER   TO   GRANDMA. 

THINK  I 
ough  t  to 
write  to 
grandma," 
said  Fran- 
k  y  o  ii  e 
Wednesday 
afternoon. 
"She  asked 
me  to  write  and  tell  her  how  I 
liked  living  in  the  city,  and  ever 
so  many  other  things,  and  I  prom- 


138  FRAXKY'S  WORK. 

ised  her  that  I  would.  Can't  I 
write  to-day,  mamma'?" 

"  Yes,  if  aunty  will  please  get 
a  pencil  and  some  paper,  you 
may  sit  down  beside  me,  and 
write  a  nice  long  letter." 

"  Can't  I  have  a  pen  and  ink, 
mamma  \ " 

"  Yes,  when  you  copy  it;  but 
first  you  want  to  put  your  letter 
together  properly ;  afterwards,  I 
will  look  it  over  and  show  you 
your  mistakes,  and  then  you  can 
make  a  fair  copy  that  grandma 
will  take  pleasure  in  reading." 

"  Wouldn't  she  like  my  letter  if 


A   LETTER   TO    GRANDMA.  139 

it  had  mistakes  in  it,  mamma?" 
asked  Franky. 

"  I  dare  say  she  would  like  it ; 
but  the  more  neatly  it  is  written, 
the  better  pleased  she  will  be, 
because  she  will  see  that  you  are 
improving." 

"  Oh,  yes,"  said  Franky.  "  I 
mean  to  try  and  not  have  a  single 
mistake."  So  he  drew  his  cricket 
up  beside  mamma's  chair,  and  as 
soon  as  aunty  brought  the  paper 
and  pencil,  began  to  write. 

You  who  read  the  letter  that 
Franky  wrote  to  send  in  one  of 
his  comfort-bags  to  some  soldier 


140  FRANKY'S  WORK. 

will  be  pleased  to  read  his  letter 
to  grandma.  I  think  it  was  a 
very  nice  little  letter.  This  was 
what  he  wrote :  — 

"Mr  DEAR  GRANDMA,  —  I  like 
living  in  Boston  very  well.  I  see 
a  great  many  more  people  than  I 
did  in  the  country ;  but  I  don't 
have  a  great  deal  of  room  to  play 
in,  as  I  did  there.  Nellie  and  I 
go  to  aunty's  school  just  as  we 
used  to,  and  we  have  James  and 
Alice  Somers  for  scholars,  which 
makes  it  very  pleasant.  1  am  just 
beginning  to  study  geography,  and 


A   LETTER   TO    GRANDMA.  141 

I  think  it  a  very  agreeable  study. 
Tom  Bass  is  living  at  Mr.  Som- 
ers's  house.  He  was  a  poor  little 
boy  that  I  asked  to  go  to  Sun- 
day-school, and  he  went.  A  very 
naughty  boy  got  away  my  pretty 
comforter  from  me  one  day,  when 
I  was  sitting  on  the  door-steps. 
I  see  a  great  many  poor  boys  and 
little  girls  every  day,  and  I  keep 
asking  them  to  go  to  Sunday- 
school  ;  but  none  of  them  have 
been  yet  but  Tom.  I  do  wish 
they  would  all  go ;  there  would  be 
plenty  of  room ;  and  then  they 
would  learn  to  be  good.  I  try  to 


142  FRANKY'S  WORK. 

be  good,  grandma,  every  day  ;  but 
I  am  naughty  very  often.  I  wish 
I  wasn't.  James  and  Alice  are  try- 
ing too.  Nellie  and  I  told  them 
how  we  were  going  to  be  little 
conquerors,  and  they  said  they 
meant  to  be  little  conquerors  too. 
I  told  Tom,  and  he  said  he  would 
join ;  so  that  makes  five  in  our 
company. 

"  Mamma  has  given  us  a  text  out 
^of  the  Bible  that  she  says  is  a 
good  motto  for  us.  It  is,  c  Fight 
the  good  fight  of  faith/  '  Mamma 
explained  it  to  us  real  nice,  and 
I  mean  to  do  it.  Nellie  is  real 


A   LETTER  TO   GRANDMA.  143 

pouty  sometimes,  but  aunty  says  it 
isn't  right  to  tell  other  people's 
faults ;  so  I  wont  write  any  more 
about  Nellie. 

"  I  want  to  see  you  and  grand- 
pa very  much  indeed.  I  hope 
that  I  can  come  to  your  house 
next  summer.  Would  you  like  to 
have  me,  if  papa  and  mamma  can 
spare  me  ?  My  fingers  are  tired, 
and  I  can't  write  any  more  now; 
so  I  am 
"  Your  affectionate  grandson, 

"  FRANK  MALOY. 

"  P.  S. — Please  send  my  love  to 
grandpa  and  Pat.  and  Bridget,  and 


144  FRANKY'S  WORK. 

tell     them    I    would     like    to    see 
them   all   very   much   indeed. 

"  FRANKY. 

"  Another  P.  S.  —  I  forgot  to  tell 
you  that  I  try  to  help  my  papa 
all  I  can,  he  has  to  work  so 
hard.  I  have  made  up  my  mind 
to  be  a  minister  like  papa  when 
I  am  a  man ;  but  Elizabeth  says 
I  shall  have  to  learn  to  be  more 
patient  before  I  am  a  minister. 
Elizabeth  is  our  hired  girl,  and 
mamma  says  she  is  very  sensible. 
Papa  preaches  to  the  poor  people 
every  Sunday  evening;  I  mean  the 
poor  people  that  wont  go  to 


A   LETTER   TO   GRANDMA.         *  145 

church.  That  is  what  I'd  like  to 
do ;  for  I  do  love  the  poor  peo- 
ple, grandmother. 

"  Your    affectionate 

FRANKY." 


Boston :  Printed  by  Dakin  and  Metcalf,  37  Cornhill. 


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